Public transportation (known as "the T" in Boston) is one of the best ways to get around the city and surrounding areas. Using flashcards from Quizlet, you can effectively teach your learner about the T's lines and destinations.
At some time during their time here, your learner's probably been on public transportation and wondered whether they were getting off at the right stop. As a newcomer to the area (in this case Boston), perhaps they don't yet know which T lines provide the fastest route to various destinations.
Place yourself in your learner's shoes:
You're new to Boston, don't speak English very well, and are trying to get to North Station to meet your sister coming in from Lowell on the commuter rail. You're on a tight schedule, and you're pretty stressed out about how to get where.
You eventually make your way to North Station, but next you need to get to Government Center to help your sister apply for citizenship. After that you need to go to the Registry of Motor Vehicles to pick up new license plates. You aren't sure of the best way to reach each of your destinations, and it's only after struggling to load a map onto your phone that you figure it out.
Stressful situations like this make what might otherwise be a happy reunion with your sister into a hassle. While the T is helpful and saves you from having to drive around the city (and put up with its notoriously bad drivers), using the T can be daunting to newcomers.
Help your learner prepare with flashcards.
The concept is straightforward. Write the name of a destination on one side of a card; on the other, the name of the line your learner needs to take to get there. You can make these cards quickly and easily. I've created a few sets to serve as models. This set of flashcards, for example, contains the names of a couple of of Boston suburbs and their respective train lines:
Arlington.......Red Line
Everett..........Orange Line
Similarly, this set of flashcards contains common destinations and the T lines that serve them.
Boston University (BU).......Green Line B
Massachusetts General Hospital (Mass General)
.........Red Line Charles/MGH
Using flashcards, you prepare your learner to meet his sister and take her to her interview at Government Center (Green Line A, B, C or D), the RMV in Chinatown (Green Line A, B, C or D or Orange Line) and, finally, back his apartment in Cambridge (Red Line/Central).
Add the words "commuter rail" to "Green Line: North Station", and "citizenship", "driver's license" and "license plates" to, respectively, "Green Line: Government Center" and and "Orange Line: Chinatown" and you are well on your way to using flashcards in classic fashion. You show the side that reads "citizenship" and your learner responds with "Green Line: Government Center". And so on.
Quizlet, the resource used to create flashcards, allows you to create professional-looking customizable flashcards for free. No matter what your learner needs to know, you can create a set of flashcards that suit their needs.
While flashcards may seem elementary, their simplicity does help learners retain information quickly and effectively. From riding public transportation to discovering which neighborhoods and Boston-area towns help serve their needs, flashcards save your learner time.
Quizlet flashcards can be used online or printed out. for your learner's convenience. You can browse through other teachers' card sets as well as save andshare your own.
I'll provide more information and thoughts about Quizlet in a future post!
Happy tutoring!
Kris
Kristofer Pieper
Programs and Social Media Intern, English At Large
Tufts University, Class of 2016
ENGLISH AT LARGE
Literacy and Learning for Life
Join the conversation
At some time during their time here, your learner's probably been on public transportation and wondered whether they were getting off at the right stop. As a newcomer to the area (in this case Boston), perhaps they don't yet know which T lines provide the fastest route to various destinations.
Place yourself in your learner's shoes:
You're new to Boston, don't speak English very well, and are trying to get to North Station to meet your sister coming in from Lowell on the commuter rail. You're on a tight schedule, and you're pretty stressed out about how to get where.
You eventually make your way to North Station, but next you need to get to Government Center to help your sister apply for citizenship. After that you need to go to the Registry of Motor Vehicles to pick up new license plates. You aren't sure of the best way to reach each of your destinations, and it's only after struggling to load a map onto your phone that you figure it out.
Stressful situations like this make what might otherwise be a happy reunion with your sister into a hassle. While the T is helpful and saves you from having to drive around the city (and put up with its notoriously bad drivers), using the T can be daunting to newcomers.
Help your learner prepare with flashcards.
The concept is straightforward. Write the name of a destination on one side of a card; on the other, the name of the line your learner needs to take to get there. You can make these cards quickly and easily. I've created a few sets to serve as models. This set of flashcards, for example, contains the names of a couple of of Boston suburbs and their respective train lines:
Arlington.......Red Line
Everett..........Orange Line
Similarly, this set of flashcards contains common destinations and the T lines that serve them.
Boston University (BU).......Green Line B
Massachusetts General Hospital (Mass General)
.........Red Line Charles/MGH
Using flashcards, you prepare your learner to meet his sister and take her to her interview at Government Center (Green Line A, B, C or D), the RMV in Chinatown (Green Line A, B, C or D or Orange Line) and, finally, back his apartment in Cambridge (Red Line/Central).
Add the words "commuter rail" to "Green Line: North Station", and "citizenship", "driver's license" and "license plates" to, respectively, "Green Line: Government Center" and and "Orange Line: Chinatown" and you are well on your way to using flashcards in classic fashion. You show the side that reads "citizenship" and your learner responds with "Green Line: Government Center". And so on.
Quizlet, the resource used to create flashcards, allows you to create professional-looking customizable flashcards for free. No matter what your learner needs to know, you can create a set of flashcards that suit their needs.
While flashcards may seem elementary, their simplicity does help learners retain information quickly and effectively. From riding public transportation to discovering which neighborhoods and Boston-area towns help serve their needs, flashcards save your learner time.
Quizlet flashcards can be used online or printed out. for your learner's convenience. You can browse through other teachers' card sets as well as save andshare your own.
I'll provide more information and thoughts about Quizlet in a future post!
Happy tutoring!
Kris
Kristofer Pieper
Programs and Social Media Intern, English At Large
Tufts University, Class of 2016
ENGLISH AT LARGE
Literacy and Learning for Life
Join the conversation
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